Medical procedures typically require the use of sterile medical devices. Some such devices need to be calibrated at a specific temperature prior to use. However, bringing the device to the desired temperature and/or calibrating the device can contaminate the device, thereby potentially adding complications to the procedure by requiring further sterilization steps before use.
Various medical sensors typically face such difficulties. Prior to use, these sensors must be calibrated and/or zeroed at a desired temperature (e.g., body temperature). One common method for performing the calibration includes warming sterile water or saline to a desired temperature in order to mimic body conditions while maintaining a sterile environment. In such a method, the sterile sensor can be removed from a packaging and placed into the sterile water or saline. Next, a non-sterile calibration device can be brought into communication with the sensor in order to perform the desired calibration. Such a procedure is deficient in many regards. First, the presence of the non-sterile calibration device risks contamination of the sensor. Next, due to such risk, the procedure can limit the proximity of the calibration device to the sterile sensor thereby potentially resulting in an inaccurate calibration. As such, the above-described calibration procedure is inefficient and error-prone.
For some sensor-based devices, the device is best calibrated at an exact temperature immediately prior to use. For example, certain implantable intra-cranial pressure sensors need to be zeroed exactly at body temperature immediately prior to implantation. Such invasive procedures require accurate calibration steps while maintaining sterility in order to enhance patient safety and increase the success rate of the procedure.